Timeline Player

"Yes," Mi'er sighed, "but after singing here for several hours, I've only earned a dozen or so blood coins, barely enough to cover my lodging and food expenses for tonight, right?"

She looked up, pretending to admire the night view: "Oh, I wonder if any kind person will invite me to dinner?"

Chi Que immediately turned and left.

"Wait, I was just kidding!" Mi'er quickly caught up with him. "Are you also going to the old town?"

Chi Que glanced at her, and although he was a little curious about how she knew this information, he still nodded.

The two walked one after the other on the stone path. The bat-shaped iron cage lamps on both sides cast red light, making their shadows very long. Mi'er walked on his right, her steps light and quick, occasionally looking around.

"By the way, Mr. Chef," she suddenly asked, "have you found a place to stay?"

"Not yet," Chi Que said briefly.

Mi'er's eyes lit up, and she patted her chest: "Then why don't we rent the same hotel? That way we can look out for each other."

Chi Que glanced at her sideways.

Her expression was natural, as if she were genuinely offering a mutually beneficial suggestion, but this proposal made it difficult for him to answer.

Agreeing is impossible, but refusing would seem heartless and expose my own problems.

He suddenly had an idea.

"Actually," Chi Que slowed his pace, speaking casually, "I met a kind person at the city gate."

"A kind person?" Mi'er tilted her head.

"Yes." Chi Que said without changing his expression. "He's willing to rent me an empty room in the old town for only sixteen blood coins a day."

Mi'er was taken aback: "Sixteen coins? That's six coins more expensive than the inn..."

"But it's a whole house," Chi Que added. "It has its own kitchen, multiple rooms, and a separate entrance. You don't have to share a toilet with strangers, and you don't have to worry about someone checking the house in the middle of the night."

Mi'er nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at him with bright eyes: "Well... you're living alone anyway, and you're living with someone else, so how about I pay you eight blood coins a day, and we can share the place?"

She had already made her plans: not only could she rent a better house at a cheaper price, but it would also have a kitchen, allowing her to buy groceries at the market herself and save on food expenses.

Chi Que smiled inwardly.

The plan is in place.

The weekly rent for a house in the old town is around fifty blood coins, but if he were to share with Mi'er, she would have to give him eight blood coins every day. In this way, after a week, he would actually earn six blood coins.

Of course, he didn't expect to get rich quick from this, but in the early stages, he needed to be careful with every blood coin.

"Okay." Chi nodded slightly. "But I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?" Mi'er looked at him warily.

"I will cook every day, but you'll have to pay for your own food," Chi Que said. "And you'll have to help wash and chop the vegetables."

Mi'er pouted: "You're treating me like a servant..."

"You can also choose to stay in a hotel." Chi Que continued walking.

Mi'er hesitated for two seconds, then sighed: "Alright, alright, eight blood coins plus washing and chopping vegetables, deal."

Chi Que nodded: "Deal."

Mi'er seemed to have things to do, and Chi Que also needed to find an opportunity to rent a place, so the two parted ways for the time being.

We agreed to meet at the old square in the old town.

Chi Que watched her figure disappear, then turned around and walked towards another alley.

The old town has narrow streets, and red vines can be seen everywhere at the base of walls and corners. Walking along the pond, I referred to the map in the merchant's notes and stopped in front of a gray two-story building.

He pushed open the door, and a musty smell hit him. To the left was a row of wooden benches, and to the right was a tall counter. Behind the counter sat a thin old man, fiddling with an abacus.

Several notices were posted on the wall, listing the rental information and prices.

"I'd like to rent a place," he said, "in the old town, with a separate kitchen, for about a week."

The old man glanced at him and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from under the counter: "West of the old town, two-bedroom apartment with kitchen and cellar, weekly rent 52 blood coins, deposit 20 blood coins, to be returned upon move-out."

"Can you make it cheaper?" Chi Que asked.

"Fifty pieces, that's the lowest price." The old man took the paper back. "Take it or leave it."

"Yes," Chi Que agreed to the price.

He carefully checked the contract, confirmed that there were no problems, signed his name, and left the agency.

He was about to return to the square where he had agreed to meet Mi'er, but after taking only a few steps, a carriage slowly approached from the depths of the alley.

Chi Que slowed his pace.

Several people wearing rain hats surrounded the carriage; they were the same group of people, Cang Lan, whom they had seen outside the city earlier.

He was waiting for the carriage to pass by when a voice came from inside: "Is that our friend from outside the city?"

With a whoosh, the carriage curtain was pulled open.

The face of the nobleman that Chi Que had seen before appeared behind the carriage window: "I am Azure Aston."

He paused, then said, "The Duke."

Chi Que remained outwardly calm, but inwardly rolled his eyes.

In the "Emotional Noble" profession, each time proficiency increases, the rank of nobility increases by one level, right? White is Baron, cyan is Viscount, blue is Earl, purple is Marquis, and yellow is Duke.

Going up from there, shouldn't bronze become king?

However, these thoughts only flashed through my mind.

"Just a nobody." Chi Que's expression remained unchanged as he introduced himself, "Nobody here."

"Today's nobody may one day become a world-renowned hero," Aston said slowly, sizing him up.

Chi Que did not respond and remained standing there.

"I've been fortunate enough to acquire a manor outside the city," Aston said casually, leaning against the carriage window. "If it's convenient, how about we meet there?"

Chi Que's heart skipped a beat. He thought, "As expected of a yellow-tier player from a major organization? Only been in town for a short time, and he's already acquired a manor. But is it located outside the city...?"

His expression flickered a few times: "May I ask how you obtained the right to reside in the manor outside the city?"

Aston shook his head, seemingly reluctant to recall: "I paid for it with a yellow-quality antique."

Is it an antique?

Chi Que immediately understood the other party's strategy: befriending local nobles in order to gain access to the banquet.

This is indeed a practice very much in line with the practices of aristocratic professions, using social interaction and resource exchange to obtain the benefits they need.

But we're not on the same wavelength.

He figured it out instantly.

"I appreciate your kind offer." Chi Que shook his head slightly, "but I already have an appointment with someone else, so it's inconvenient to reschedule."

Aston looked at him, and Chi Que did not flinch, calmly meeting his gaze. The atmosphere became somewhat heavy for a moment.